Clock–Work Trade-Off Relation for Coherence in Quantum Thermodynamics

In thermodynamics, quantum coherences—superpositions between energy eigenstates—behave in distinctly nonclassical ways. Here we describe how thermodynamic coherence splits into two kinds—“internal” coherence that admits an energetic value in terms of thermodynamic work, and “external” coherence that does not have energetic value, but instead corresponds to the functioning of the system as a quantum clock. For the latter form of coherence, we provide dynamical constraints that relate to quantum metrology and macroscopicity, while for the former, we show that quantum states exist that have finite internal coherence yet with zero deterministic work value. Finally, under minimal thermodynamic assumptions, we establish a clock–work trade-off relation between these two types of coherences. This can be viewed as a form of time-energy conjugate relation within quantum thermodynamics that bounds the total maximum of clock and work resources for a given system.